Key duplicating machine

ABSTRACT

AN ORIGINAL KEY IS PLACED IN A RECESS HAVING ASSOCIATED SCALE MARKINGS ON ITS SIDE EDGES WHICH INDICATE THE LONGITUDINAL POSITIONS OF NOTCH LOCATIONS ON THE KEY. A KEY BLANK IS SUPPORTED IN A SELECTED LONGITUDINAL POSITION ON A HOLDING JAW, AND A CUTTER BAR IS MOVED PERPENDICULARLY PAST THE HOLDING JAW TO FORM A NOTCH IN THE KEY BLANK. SCALE MARKINGS ON THE HOLDING JAW ARE USED TO VISUALLY DETERMINE THE CORRECT POSITION OF THE KEY BLANK AS EACH NOTCH IS BEING FORMED. AFTER THE CORRECT POSITION OF THE KEY BLANK IS VISUALLY DETERMINED BY CONCURRENT REFERENCE TO A CORRESPONDING NOTCH LOCATION ON THE ORIGINAL KEY,   HAND OPERATION OF AN ACTUATING MEANS CAUSES INITIAL MOVEMENT OF THE CUTTER BAR TO FIRST GRASP THE KEY BLANK FIRMLY IN POSITION THROUGH AN ASSOCIATED HOLDING FINGER, AND THEN FURTHER MOVEMENT OF THE CUTTER BAR RESULTS IN THE NOTCHING OPERATION. THE CUTTER BAR IS DISPOSED IN AN ELONGATED GUIDEWAY WITHIN THE FRAME, AND POSITIVELY RETAINED TO PREVENT MISALIGNMENT OF THE CUTTING EDGE DURING A NOTCH FORMING OPERATION. AN ECCENTRIC CAM WITH ASSOCIATED OPERATING HANDLE DRIVES THE CUTTER BAR RELATIVE TO THE FRAME.

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KEY DUPLICATING MACHINE 2 Sheets-Sheet 73 Filed July 16, 1969 I vEA/mz H0257 W my 8 5% a M ,Qrroe/vEus:

United States Pate 3,611,569 KEY DUPLICATING MAE Horst W. Wich, 816 Brent, South Pasadena, Calif. 91030 Filed July 16, 1969, Ser. No. 842,186 Int. Cl. B26b 13/22 U.S. Cl. 30--131 14 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE An original key is placed in a recess having associated scale markings on its side edges which indicate the longitudinal positions of notch locations on the key. A key blank is supported in a selected longitudinal position on a holding jaw, and a cutter bar is moved perpendicularly past the holding jaw to form a notch in the key blank. Scale markings on the holding jaw are used to visually determine the correct position of the key blank as each notch is being formed. After the correct position of the key blank is visually determined by concurrent reference to a corresponding notch location on the original key, hand operation of an actuating means causes initial movement of the cutter bar to first grasp the key blank firmly in position through an associated holding finger, and then further movement of the cutter bar results in the notching operation. The cutter bar is disposed in an elongated guideway within the frame, and positively retained to prevent misalignment of the cutting edge during a notch forming operation. An eccentric cam with associated operating handle drives the cutter bar relative to the frame.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Certain types of keys which have notches of a fixed configuration located in selected ones of predetermined locations on the key occasionally require being duplicated. It would be an advantage to be able to use a portable, hand-operated machine for this purpose.

Thus a major object of the present invention is to provide a portable, hand-operated key duplicating machine for duplicating keys having notches of predetermined configuration located in selected ones of predetermined positions.

According to the present invention each individual notch is formed by a single stroke of a cutting blade. Both the key blank and cutting blade are firmly secured in their proper positions to insure the correct location of the notch. A cam type of actuating means is operated by hand for cutting the notch.

Thus another important object of the invention is to provide a portable, hand-operated key duplicating machine which is capable of notching a key blank with a precise shape and clean cut of the notch, in a single cutting operation.

DRAWING SUMMARY FIG. 1 is a side view of the machine with handle and cutter bar in the unoperated position;

FIG. 2 is a top view taken on the line 22 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view taken on the line 33 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view taken on the line 4-4 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view taken on the line 5-5 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 6 is a top view showing an original key to be duplicated, in the decoding recess shown in FIG. 2;

FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view taken on the line 7-7 of FIG. 6;

FIG. 8 is a side view like FIG. 1 but showing the ban dle and cutter bar in the operated position;

FIG. 9 is a longitudinal cross-sectional view taken on the line 99 of FIG. 8;

Mm iii.

FIG. 10 is a transverse cross-sectional view taken on the line 1010 of FIG. 8; and

FIG. 11 is an exploded perspective view of certain parts of the mechanism.

PREFERRED EMBODIMENT The fixed frame portion of the machine, which may be referred to as frame assembly F, includes an elongated rigid frame member 20 having a fixed holding jaw 30 and a retaining plate 35 in fixed positions thereon. Frame member 20 at its forward end (the upper end as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2) has an elongated guideway 21 within which a cutter bar 40 is slidably received. At its rearward end (the lower end as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2) the frame member 20 also has a decoding recess 24.

During operation of the machine an original key K is placed within the decoding recess 24, as shown in FIG. 6, and is retained there and visually observed while a copy is being made. The copy is .made from a key blank B which is positioned on the holding jaw 30, as shown in dotted lines in FIGS. 1,4, 8, and 10.

The decoding recess 24 has a central V-shaped notch 25 formed therein, and the key K is turned so that a corresponding ridge on the key occupies the notch, as best seen in FIG. 7. With reference to FIG. 6, the decoding of the notch locations is accomplished by observing the 10 scale, reference numeral 27, which shows notches at both the 3 position and the 13 position. Then the 20 scale identified by numeral 28 shows a iotch located at the 8 position. The flat end face 26 of the frame member 29 provides a stop means for the shoulders of the key K, and it is this positioning of the shoulders against the stop means which correctly relates the positions of the notches relative to the scales 27, 28. The particular type of key illustrated is well known in the trade as being manufactured by Schlage Lock Company.

Since each notch formed in the blank B is accomplished in a single punching or cutting operation, a powerful driving force is required to operate the cutter bar 40 and its cutter edge 43. An eccentric cam 51 is used as the most essential part of the actuating means for the cutter bar. The cam 51 is essentially in the form of a circular plate which is received within a recess 41 that is formed in one side of the cutter bar 40, as best seen in FIGS. 2 and 9. A pivot pin 52 supports the cam. 51 from a position that is eccentric to the mathematical center of the cam, and the pivot pin 52 passes through a pair of pin holes 22 which are formed in the frame member 20 on respective sides of the guideway 21. Pivot pin 52 also passes through a pin slot 42 formed in the cutter bar 40, as best seen in FIG. 11, hence when the cam 51 is rotated it exerts a driving force on the end walls of recess 41 thus driving the cutter bar in an endwise direction, the movement of the cutter bar relative to pivot pin 52 being permitted by the pin slot 42.

Cam 51 is driven by an operating handle 53, the handle 53 on its outer end having an attached stop 55 which engages the outer end of frame member 20 when the handle is fully actuated. The handle 53 is normally held in its unoperated position as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, by virtue of a compression spring 54 having one end received in a spring recess 23 of the frame member and the other end received in a spring recess 56 of the handle.

Thus when the blank B has been positioned on holding jaw 30 and aligned in the correct position for forming a selected notch, the operation of handle 53 drives the cam 51 and hence the cutter bar 40 so that cutter edge 43 moves towards and past the holding jaw 30. Holding jaw 30 has a notch 33 formed therein which permits the passage of the cutter edge 43 in a correct position to form a notch in the key blank B (see FIGS. 4 and 10).

Cutter bar 40 has an elongated surface portion 44 which acts as a retaining stop for the key blank B, thus assuring a correct lateral alignment of the blank so that the cutter edge 43 will cut the notch to its proper depth. The blank stop 44 is best seen in FIG. 11. Cooperating with the holding jaw 30 is a holding finger 60 having an end surface 61 which is disposed at an angle relative to the holding jaw. As best shown in FIG. 8 the cooperative action of the holding finger is such that its inclined end surface forces the blank B against the flat surface of holding jaw 30, and at the same time engages the ridge on the blank so as to force the blank laterally against the blank stop surface 44 of the cutter bar 40.

In cutting notches in the blank B it is necessary to position the blank anew for each notch that is to be formed. As shown in FIG. 4 the 20 scale is being used, and one shoulder of the blank is visually aligned with the 8 position so that the opposite side edge of the blank will be correctly positioned for cutting of the corresponding notch by the cutter edge. In FIG. 4 the 20 scale is identified by reference numeral 32. The 10 scale on the holding bar 30 is located in longitudinal alignment with the 20 scale, but extends in the opposite direction away from the cutter bar location and the location of notch 33. When the blank is to be notched on the other side for the 3 and 13 locations of the 10 scale, it is necessary to turn the blank over end-for-end to the alternate position shown in FIG. 10. The other shoulder of the blank is then referenced to the appropriate scale marking on the 10 scale, reference numeral 31.

Thus during the operation of the machine the operator visually determines with reference to the original key K the location of a particular notch that is to be formed, then he locates the blank B in the corresponding position relative to holding jaw 30, then he operates the actuating handle to cause the notch to be formed. This operation is repeated until the required number of notches have been duplicated in the blank.

The notching action is performed in a reliable manner which does not disturb the precise alignment of the cutter edge 43 relative to the key blank B. Cutter bar 40 slides longitudinally in relatively tight engagement within the guideway 21 of frame member 20. A cutter bar extension is formed by a threaded opening 45 in the outer end of the cutter bar which receives the threaded end of an end pin 46, the end pin 46 having an end cap 47. Holding finger 60 has an L-shaped configuration, as best seen in FIG. 8, with its base portion having a pin hole 62 through which the end pin 46 passes. A resilient means (compressive spring) 70 is disposed on the end pin 46 between end cap 47 and the base portion of holding finger 60. The operating end of holding finger 60 is guided by plate 35 which is firmly attached to the frame member, this arrangement being best seen in FIGS. 3 and 11. The actual notching operation is a two-step procedure, after the key blank B has been correctly positioned. The initial movement of the operating handle 53 serves to move the holding finger 60 so that it will engage the blank B prior to the time when the blank is engaged by cutter edge 43. Continued movement of the operating handle 53 causes the cutter bar to advance further, and this further advance of the cutter bar relative to holding finger '60 is permitted by a compression of the resilient compression spring 70. A continuing advance of the operating handle 53 then causes the cutter edge 43 to cut through the exposed edge portion of the blank B. The holding action of holding finger 60' both prior to and during the actual notching operation hOlps assure a precisely correct position of the notch being formed.

Having described the invention, what is claimed as new in support of Letters Patent is:

I claim:

1. A portable, hand-operated machine for duplicating a key on the basis of visual measurement of the notch locations, comprising:

a frame assembly having means for holding a key blank in a selected longitudinal position;

a cutter bar movable past the key blank in a direction perpendicular thereto and having a cutter edge for forming a notch in the key blank;

actuating means for driving said cutter bar each time a notch is to be formed;

an elongated shallow decoding recess formed in said frame assembly for receiving an original key to be duplicated, having stop means at one end of said recess for retaining the shoulders of the key and having a separate series of scale markings on each longitudinal side edge of the recess for providing a visual indication of the notch locations on respective sides of the key; and

means associated with said key blank holding means for visually determining the locations of notches to be formed in the key blank, including a holding jaw having one series of scale markings extending in one direction from the cutter bar for indicating positions of one shoulder of the key blank when notches are to be cut on one side of the blank, and a second series of scale markings extending in the other direction from the cutter bar for indicating positions of the other shoulder of the key blank when notches are to be cut on the other side of the key blank;

whereby the operator may visually observe the location of one notch at a time in the original key and manually re-adjust the position of the key blank before cutting the corresponding notch in said blank.

2. A key duplicating machine as claimed in claim 1 wherein said decoding recess has a V-shaped central notch, said scale markings including a 10 series ranging from 1 to 13 and a 20 series ranging from 2 to 14, respectively.

3. A key duplicating machine as claimed in claim 1 wherein said frame assembly includes an elongated frame member, said decoding recess is located at one end of said frame member, and said stop means is formed by the flat outer end surface of said frame member.

4. A key duplicating machine as claimed in claim 1 wherein said one series of scale markings on said holding jaw is a 10 series with the 13 mark located near the cutter bar and the 1 mark remote therefrom, and the other series of scale markings on said holding jaw is a 20 series with the 14 mark near the cutter bar location and the 2 mark remote therefrom.

5. A machine for cutting notches in a key blank at successive locations selected by visual means, comprising:

a frame assembly including a frame and a holding jaw for holding the key blank;

a cutter bar movable past said holding jaw in a direction perpendicular thereto and carrying a cutting edge for forming a notch in the key blank;

actuating means cooperating with said frame and said cutter bar for driving said cutter bar to form said notch;

said holding jaw having scale markings thereon providing visual means for establishing a selected position of the key blank which will correspond to the desired position of a notch to be formed therein;

a holding finger adapted for holding the key blank in contact with said holding jaw in the selected position relative to said scale markings; and

resilient means supporting said holding finger from said cutter bar so that said holding finger engages and holds the key blank in place both prior to and during the notch forming operation.

6. A key blank notching machine as claimed in claim 5 wherein said frame is elongated and has an elongated guideway formed therein, and said cutter bar is elongated and is disposed within said guideway and positively retained therein in slidable relationship with said frame thereby preventing misalignment of said cutting edge during a notch forming operation.

7. A key blank notching machine as claimed in claim 5 wherein said actuating means includes an eccentric cam, a pivot pin supported from said frame and from which said eccentric cam is pivotally supported, and an operating handle secured to said cam, said cutter bar having a recess within which said eccentric cam is received.

8. A key blank notching machine as claimed in claim 7 wherein said frame is elongated and has an elongated guideway formed therein, and said cutter bar is elongated and is disposed Within said guideway and positively retained therein in slidable relationship with said frame, thereby preventing misalignment of said cutting edge during a notch forming operation.

9. A key blank notching machine as claimed in claim 5 wherein said holding finger is mounted for movement in a'direction perpendicular to said holding jaw, the end face of said holding finger being inclined at an angle so as to press the key blank against said holding jaw and at the same time press said key blank laterally toward said cutting bar so as to ensure the forming of each notch to its full depth by said cutting edge of said cutter bar.

10. A hand operated machine for cutting notches in a key blank, comprising:

an elongated frame member having an elongated guideway formed therein;

an elongated cutter bar positively retained within said guideway and adapted for longitudinal sliding motion relative to said frame member;

holding means carried by the forward end of said frame member for holding the key blank in a plane perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of said frame member, said cutter bar at its forward end carrying a cutting edge which engages an edge of the key blank for forming a notch therein as said cutter bar is driven rearwardly relative to said frame member; and actuating means for selectively driving said cutter bar rearwardly, said actuating means including (a) a transversely extending pivot pin secured to said frame member at a point forwardly of its longitudinal center (b) an operating handle having its forward end pivotally supported on said pivot pin, the rearward end of said handle being adapted to close toward the rearward end of said frame member (0) the portion of said handle adjacent said pivot pin providing an eccentrically curved rearwardly facing drive cam surface (d) said cutter bar having a recess through which said cam portion of said handle passes, said drive cam surface engaging said cutter bar at the rearward end of said recess for driving said cutter bar rearwardly when said operating handle is depressed.

11. The machine claimed in claim 10 which additionally includes spring means normally urging said operating handle away from said frame.

12. The machine claimed in claim 10 wherein said cam portion of said handle also provides a forwardly facing drive cam surface engaging said cutter bar at the forward end of said recess for driving said cutter bar forwardly when said operating handle is raised.

13. The machine of claim 10 wherein said pivot pin is located on the side of said cutter bar remote from said operating handle.

14. The machine of claim 13 wherein said cutter bar also has an elongated recess formed on said remote side thereof for partially receiving said pivot pin.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 16,301 12/1856 Hannah 30183 Re. 21,408 3/ 1940 Devlin 30131 1,995,798 3/1935 Curtis 30131 2,542,103 2/1951 Adel 30-241 3,486,226 12/1969 Reisner 30-131 ROBERT C. RIORDON, Primary Examiner J. C. PETERS, Assistant Examiner 

